A central 3.2 x 1.4 x 1.2 cm emerald crystal, translucent and gemmy, sits amidst a nest of stark white calcite. Importantly the calcite is crystallized - the best kind of matrix on these. The emerald has a very gemmy tip, and the rest of the crystal is quite translucent. It is a medium green in color, by gem dealer standards, but this is a color that I find very pleasing and fine for a specimen. As well, the contrast of white on green is dramatic. Long in the collection of Steven Sinotte and Rebecca Stewart, they bought this directly from one of the sources, and I agree with their feeling that this is a very special, balanced, display miniature. There are many emeralds to be had, and choosing one requires a compromise of gemminess, color, aesthetics, matrix, etc...this piece really has most qualities you would want, and for the price range I thought a very impressive specimen

This is a sugary, sparkling knob of the subtle pastel-green calcite that came out once in the 1980s, and is often referred to as cuprian calcite or "daiquiri calcite" for its color. It is pristine, and very aesthetic.Pieces like this are highly desired, and turn up now only in old collections with Tsumeb suites. In person, it is much brighter. The color is soft, subtle, but not boring...it really is a quite unique color that is hard to describe in photos.

Very few smaller "heart twins are available in the marketplace, compared to those that are small cabinet or larger in size and high in $$$ - we think simply fewer little guys were saved by miners back in the day, since they got more money for bigger twins. That makes it quite difficult to find a fine miniature or thumbnail example. I have seen in fact just a few thumbnails in all my years. This is a floater with most of the upper calcite faces exhibiting wonderfully visible growth striations; and it is fat and transparent as well. The lustre is glassy and gemmy. It is shockingly colorless , without distracting iron inclusions as they often have. The old german labels describe the twinning habit. ex Irv Brown thumbnail collection. Per Paul Pohwat of the Smithsonian (with thanks): the label is giving the crystal notation in the Miller and Naumann or Weiss notation, in other words the indices of the faces and the twin axis. The notation with the four numbers is the Miller notation. So while technically correct that the symbols are mathematical descriptions of the crystal the easier route would be to say that they are the crystallographic notations for the faces.

This is a superb, aesthetic specimen of calcite from ANY locality, with a funny disjointed and 3-dimensional termination that looks like it is bending over on its base (rhombohedral modifications atop a scalenohedral pedestal). It is complete all around, 3-dimensional and as close to pristine as you can ask for (a few very tiny dings, is all). It is VERY reflective and lustrous, and so gemmy that light bounces off the back faces and thus makes the crystal look cloudier than it is. So we took the closeup photos with reduced lighting to convey more of the clarity and gemminess. I had not seen a calcite from this locality, despite 20 years of collecting calcite, until this piece came my way in the purchase of the Wilhelm Leithauser collection. And the reason I am told this, is that the find is very old, from the 1930s, and few ever came to market. Indeed, the typed accession label from the Stockholm Museum indicates a date of 1937 (which may be discovery or acquisition, I cannot say). The other label seems to be the actual museum display label.

An exquisite emerald specimen, simply "different" to my eye than so many others. It has a very castellated, complex multiple termination that to me looks like towers out of a fantasy movie made of gemmy green emerald. The color is a vivid, bright hue. Some collectors prefer darker colors, some lighter shades, and this is somewhere in between; and very vibrant for it. You can see the piece shimmering from across the room, as it also has sparkly lustre on both the calcite and the emerald associations. The piece is beautifully trimmed, to accentuate the 3-dimensionality of the emerald and of the adjacent twinned calcite, atop. The calcites are not just "matrix" here, but worthy in their own right, and the twin is particularly sharp and gemmy. Most collectors would probably go after your stereotypic emerald - a single crystal sticking out of matrix. My argument there would be that, however nice it may be (and price can be $5k-500k), the overall aesthetic is still the same, from piece to piece, on a general basis. THIS ONE, though, is subtly differrent to my eye and always stood out to me. I first owned it about 2004, and recently had a chance to exchange it back from the collectors (not for quality reasons, just simply as they broadened their tastes a bit to other species). Joe Budd photos.

This superb full miniature highlights a very sharp, aesthetically placed spinel crystal, 2.5 cm on a side, perched on the most contrasting matrix you can ask for, of stark white calcite. The crystal of spinel is "spinel-twinned", in that it shows a clear macle twinning effect. Most such twinned spinels seem to come to market off matrix, for whatever reasons. The spinel has been carefully excavated on the back and sides and is fully exposed - quite a risk for the preparator, to have taken. The termination and the faces are all sharp and lustrous with a classic waxy luster that is typical of spinel. This was mined in the 2010 mining season and for my taste, was the finest example I saw out of a small lot of them to come out. When backlit, this glows a rich , deep, maroon color. Joe Budd Photos

Very rarely can one get a gem euclase on matrix, let alone a piece of this high quality. The crystal about 1.5 inches long, is glassy and dramatic, with a brilliant lustre and color that has to be seen to be believed. These few gemmy, matrix euclases from this emerald mine are rated as the best of species, and I would think this must be among the best matrix miniatures known. It came out around 2003-2004. It is, surely, in rarified company. .Joe Budd Photos. I have to admit i sold this perhaps 3-4 years ago, but just had it back for cleaning , base, and photography ; and so its only posted here for fun. This euclase is simply awesomely colorful, and impactful, in person.

This is, according to the man who brought them out to market in the last 5 years, the finest miniature recovered in the modern reworking of this old locale. It was found around 2008 and was in the collection of Jason New until recently (he and his family run a large specimen mining operation in Mexico , and he has superb taste in specimens to keep!). I am told that the production of truly good pieces from this mine is now only a few per year, with the majority being "wholesale or bulk level" material. The large crystal is 3.2 cm tall and is SUPER GEMMY. You may have seen old apatites from this mine. They were gemmy too. But, this one has a degree of clarity and internal brightness that must rank it highly, and to my eye it is simply a little bit finer in quality than any older examples I have seen in the size class. It is brighter, sharper, more lustrous, as a gem crystal. Also, the piece is simply very aesthetic, overall.Joe Budd Photos